Ad-hoc connection between electronic devices

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of creating an ad-hoc connection between two electronic devices. In order to enable a particularly user-friendly creation of such a connection, it is proposed that a first device detects a hugging state between the first device and a second device, in which the first device and the second device are in close vicinity and a piece of information is received at the first device directly from the second device. In case a hugging state is detected, a handle is obtained proceeding from the received piece of information. The handle comprises an address of some device other than the first device. Finally, a communication channel is established between the first device and the other device using the address included in the handle. The invention relates equally to a corresponding device, to an expandable framework for such a device, and to a corresponding software program product.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/098,807, filed Dec. 6, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/773,765, filed Feb. 5, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.8,639,819, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method of creating an ad-hoc connectionbetween at least two electronic devices for enabling an interactionbetween the at least two electronic devices. The invention relatesequally to a corresponding device and to a corresponding softwareprogram product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A mobile electronic device often travels along with its user from placeto place. Each day, the user encounters dozens or even hundreds of otherelectronic devices having the potential to communicate with the mobileelectronic device. The user meets for instance other people carryingtheir own mobile electronic devices, visits places equipped withconsumer or office electronics, or passes by a store that provideselectronic services or marketing.

There exist powerful user interface (UI) concepts which can be used incommunications between different electronic devices, such ascut-and-paste, copy-and-paste and drag-and-drop concepts. These conceptsprovide very intuitive possibilities of interconnecting differentapplications even across different electronic devices. For instance, itis a simple task to drag-and-drop a file from the disk of one computerto the disk of another computer, provided that the computers are firstconnected to each other.

Before a user can make his or her mobile electronic device interact withan encountered electronic device, an ad-hoc connection has thus to beestablished first.

Most prior art approaches require the user to create an ad-hocconnection in a way that is specific to the connection technology. Thecreation of the ad-hoc connection may also be separated completely fromthe task for which the connection is desired.

For example, the user of a laptop computer may start a card managerapplication for activating a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) card andselect the correct connection profile and/or access point. When makingan ad-hoc connection, the user may even have to create a new connectionprofile. Finding the necessary parameters for the connection profile isa challenge of its own.

Unless the user encounters the same electronic device almost every day,it is therefore unlikely that the user bothers or is in a position toconnect his or her mobile electronic device to some encountered device.

Also if the possibility of establishing a connection is integrated intoan application, the user of known devices has to follow a complex menustructure until the right menu item is found. In general, it is a targetto allow a desired item to be reached with as few clicks as possible,but due to the large amount of functions, there are usually neverthelessseveral clicks needed to reach a desired item.

In a typical situation in which content is to be shared or exchangedbetween the electronic devices of two users, somebody takes a picturewith a DSC or a camera enabled mobile phone and desires to share thepicture with another person close by. To send the item over ashort-range technology, like Bluetooth™, the person has to select theright menu item in the device, address the other device, typically byfirst searching or inquiring the device, select the device and thentransmit the picture file to the other device. This requires a couple ofsteps, and for many technically inexperienced end users, this will be aburden in actually using an available function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to enable the creation of ad-hocconnections between electronic devices in a particularly user-friendlyway.

A method of creating an ad-hoc connection between at least twoelectronic devices for enabling an interaction between the at least twoelectronic devices is proposed, which comprises at a first one of theelectronic devices detecting a hugging state between the firstelectronic device and a second one of the electronic devices. A huggingstate is assumed to be given if the first electronic device and thesecond electronic device are at least in close vicinity to each otherand a piece of information is received at the first electronic devicedirectly from the second electronic device. The proposed method furthercomprises, in case a hugging state is detected, obtaining a handleproceeding from the received piece of information. The handle comprisesat least an address of at least one other of the at least two electronicdevices than the first electronic device. Such another electronic devicecan thus be either the second electronic device or a further electronicdevice. The proposed method finally comprises establishing acommunication channel between the first electronic device and the atleast one other of the electronic devices using the address included inthe handle.

Moreover, an electronic device is proposed, which comprises a touchdetection portion and a link creation portion. The touch detectionportion is adapted to detect a hugging state between the electronicdevice and a further electronic device. A hugging state is assumed to begiven if the electronic device and the further electronic device are atleast in close vicinity to each other and a piece of information isreceived by the electronic device directly from the further electronicdevice. The touch detection portion is further adapted to obtain ahandle proceeding from a piece of information received from a furtherelectronic device in case a hugging state is detected. The handlecomprising at least an address belonging to at least one electronicdevice other than the proposed electronic device. The link creationportion is adapted to establish a communication channel to at least oneother electronic device using an address included in a handle providedby the touch detection portion for enabling an interaction with the atleast one other electronic device.

Moreover, an expandable framework for an electronic device is proposed,which comprises a touch detection portion, a link creation portion andan additional control portion. The touch detection portion and the linkcreation portion, which correspond to the touch detection portion andthe link creation portion of the proposed electronic device, areconnected to the additional control portion. The additional controlportion is adapted to be supplemented by functional blocks supporting arespective service, and comprises at least one interface for enabling aninput to functional blocks added to the additional control portion.

Finally, a software program product is proposed, in which a softwarecode for creating an ad-hoc connection between at least two electronicdevices for enabling an interaction between the at least two electronicdevices is stored. The software code realizes the steps of the proposedmethod when running in a first one of the electrical devices.

The invention proceeds from the consideration that a user may physicallyindicate by touching, pointing, etc., that two devices should beconnected to each other so that they can share information or otherwiseinteract. A piece of information transmitted during such an indicationcan then be employed by one of the devices for determining an address ofthe other device. Thereby, the device is able to automatically establisha communication channel to this address. The invention relies on aconcept which is referred to as “hugging”. The exact definition of thisterm and thus of the required criteria may vary. In the most generalcase, the “hugging” only needs to enable one electronic device todetermine that another electronic device, which is currently nearby,might be willing to interact.

A subsequent interaction on an established communication channel isadvantageously context dependent. An interaction is considered to becontext dependent if the nature of the interaction depends on the stateof either of the involved electronic devices, on a specific combinationof their states and/or on an input to the electronic devices. The natureof the interaction between the electronic devices may also depend on thestate of or the input to applications in the devices, on available dataand services, on user preferences, etc. An interaction may be contentdependent to the effect that it is selected in a context specific waywhich application within one electronic device is to interact with anapplication in another device. Similarly, if some additional informationis passed to an application, the application is enabled to interact withanother application via the communication channel in a context specificway. A context dependent interaction may be caused by any suitablecomponent of the electronic device, for instance the link creationportion, the additional control portion of a provided framework, or anapplication.

Since it is proposed that an address is obtained as part of the handlefor establishing a communication channel, the possible communicationchannels are not limited to direct links between the devices. Rather,any type of direct or indirect communication channel which allowsreaching the address in the handle can be employed. That is, after thehandle has been obtained, a large distance could be brought in betweenthe involved electronic devices, as an indirect communication channel,for instance via some communication network, can be established. Thecommunication channel uses advantageously, though not necessarily, alink between the involved electronic devices which enables aninteraction via the communication channel over any distance, at least assoon as the involved electronic devices reach a distance to each otherwhich does not permit another type of link for an interaction via thecommunication channel.

It is an advantage of the invention that it allows to unify the userexperience of setting up a local or non-local ad-hoc connection acrossdifferent technologies between electronic devices which are close toeach other. If in wide use, the invention even allows unification of theuser experience of setting up such a connection across all or almost allelectronic devices that a person may own or use.

It is further an advantage of the invention that it reduces the amountof user time needed to set up such a connection. The invention makessetting up an ad-hoc connection and using it for a specific purpose avery intuitive, physical and easy experience, as it allows one to avoidhaving to type through a menu structure. Thus, it improves the usabilityof electronic devices.

In one embodiment of the invention, a hugging state is assumed to begiven if the first and the second electronic devices actually touch eachother physically. In order to enable a detection of such a touch, theelectronic devices may be provided on their surface with a materialensuring a galvanic contact, for example a metal or a polymer thatconducts electricity. A hugging state may also be seen in the act ofconnecting two devices, for example if a data cable is connected betweena mobile phone and PC constituting the electronic devices, an InternetProtocol (IP) connection is opened, a VPN tunnel is set up and a httpGET is done. For instance, a user could connect a desktop computer and amedia phone with a data cable for one second and then leave the roomtaking the media phone along.

As an alternative to touching, a hugging state may also be assumed to begiven for example if one electronic device, in particular a mobiledevice, is used for pointing at another electronic device. Such apointing can be detected for instance by means of an infrared beam, alaser light or an infrasound, which all support passing information fora handle.

As a further alternative to touching, a hugging state may be assumed tobe given if one electronic device is brought into close proximity ofanother device, for example to a distance of 5 to 50 centimeters.Detecting the proximity of another device can be based on the sametechnologies as detecting a pointing, if means for measuring thedistance are added to the electronic devices. In addition, purelynon-directional signals, such as those used in WLAN, Bluetooth™ or RadioFrequency Identification (RFID), can be used. At least Bluetooth™enables a measurement of the distance. More specifically, the distancecan be derived from Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)measurements.

The physical means required for detecting a hugging state thus depend onthe respectively supported type or types of hugging which shall bedetected. They may comprise a galvanic surface, an infrared (IR)led/detector, an RFID chip, a Bluetooth™ chip, etc. The physical meanscan be part of an electronic device itself or be built into anaccessory, such as snap-on covers of a mobile phone. In addition, alogic can be used to determine that a hugging is taking place based onthe information provided by the physical means.

Typically, the detection of a hugging state does not require user inputbeyond the actual causing of the hugging state, even though a user inputis not excluded.

The handle which is obtained according to the invention can be orcomprise, for instance, the IP-address or the Mobile SubscriberIntegrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) of the respective otherelectronic device.

Gaining the handle may simply comprise receiving such an IP-address orMSISDN of the other electronic device from the second electronic device,or it may involve complex negotiations between the first and the secondelectronic device for determining the address and possibly othercommunication parameters for setting up the connection.

In some cases, gaining the handle may require multiple steps, forexample if RFID is used as technology for detecting a hugging andobtaining a handle.

RFID is a short-range technology which allows to write short dataobjects with a reader to a tag and to read short data objects with areader from a tag. The distance between the reader and the tag hastypically to be a few centimeters. A device can be provided with both, areader and a tag. The tag can be passive and the tag content can havefor instance a size of about 200 bytes.

For realizing the invention, the content of an RFID tag can be made useof in various ways.

In one alternative, the RFID tag is used in a conventional manner. Thatis, one device comprises an RFID tag storing a data packet, and an RFIDreader in another device emits radio signals for causing anestablishment of a connection. The RFID tag in the first device respondsautomatically with a stored data packet when both devices come closeenough to each other.

In another alternative, a device may read the content of its own RFIDtag and broadcast this content to its neighborhood. The broadcast mayuse, for example, Bluetooth™, WLAN, Ethernet or Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA) or a combination of thereof. Another device is thenresponsible of recognizing that it is being contacted and of measuringhow close the device transmitting the content of its RFID tag is.

In both alternatives, the provided tag content could contain the finalhandle which is required for setting up a connection.

Usually, however, the content of an RFID tag by itself cannot providesufficient data for creating a valid handle. First, the contents of theRFID tag have to reveal that it identifies an electronic device asopposed to, for example, a building or a room. Standardizing a specificRFID tag format for identifying devices according to the invention andfor presenting their handles could permit this requirement to be met,but the resulting unit price for RFID tags might be prohibitive. Second,the address information required for the handle may change many timesduring the lifespan of an RFID tag. Updating the contents of the RFIDtag would present another set of economic and technical challenges.

With some additional steps, however, RFID tags can be used in an easyway for detecting a hugging state and for allowing a handle to beobtained. The goal of those steps is to map the content of the tag, forexample an ID, into a usable address such as an IP-address.

The provided tag content may contain, for example, at least enoughinformation so that the other device can successfully respond, possiblywith a broadcast of its own, thus opening a longer dialog for obtainingthe handle.

In another embodiment, a received content of an RFID tag may cause adevice to query a local database for known tag contents and their knownmapping to usable addresses, for example IP-addresses. Instead of alocal database, also a centralized database can be used. Such acentralized database has the advantage that it can serve a large numberof devices and that it avoids the requirement that the devices haveprior knowledge of each other.

As indicated further above, the handle may comprise in addition to anaddress any other information that can be used to establish acommunication channel and, once it has been established, to use it. Thehandle can include for example a port number, security tokens, sharedsecret keys or public keys, information on which coding is to be usedand information on when the established communication channel may beused. The handle may even include information originating from a thirdparty, such as the price of using the communication channel. Forexample, for obtaining the handle, the connectivity provider could bequeried for the price, once the involved electronic devices have agreedor tentatively agreed upon using a specific connectivity technology or aspecific connection provider for the communication channel which is tobe established.

A logic can be used for obtaining the necessary handle. Thecommunication channel, which is set up according to the invention, maybe based on any available communication technology and protocol,including for example Bluetooth™, WLAN, General Packet Radio Service(GPRS) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS).

The selection of a specific communication channel among variousavailable communication channels may be based on predetermined userpreferences, in order to guarantee the best user experience. In somecases, it may also be advisable, though, to base the selection on a userinput.

In one embodiment of the invention, care is taken that an establishedlink is sustained under changing conditions. The link may be may beswitched for example from IP-over-Bluetooth™ to GPRS, when two devicesbetween which a Bluetooth™ connection had been established are no longerwithin the Bluetooth™ range.

Unless special care is taken, two devices in a hugging state may eachcreate a link between each other. Typically, such a double linking isundesirable. In one embodiment of the invention, therefore a resolutionmechanism is provided which determines which one of the devices is tocreate the communication channel. The resolution may, for instance, becarried out already when the handle is obtained. The result of theresolution may then be incorporated into the handle as information for alink creation portion of an electronic device. Alternatively, certainelectronic devices might not be able to create the communication channelat all. Further alternatively, both electronic devices may create acommunication channel and one of them is then dropped again. Furtheralternatively, some computational method is used for determining whichone of the electronic devices shall create the communication channel.For example, the devices may compare their IP-addresses, and only theone with a “lower” or “higher” IP-address is responsible for creatingthe communication channel.

The created communication channel should be accessible to at least oneapplication, should this at least one application desire to use it. Theword application is to be understood in the widest possible senseincluding, for example, operating systems, utility software, end-userapplications and dedicated hardware. The application could even be apiece of functionality offered by the operating system or some otherapplication.

In some cases, it may be obvious, which application or applications areto be allowed to use an established communication channel, for examplebecause there is only a single application on the device. Otherwise, anapplication selection logic may be employed for selecting whichapplication or applications are to use an established communicationchannel.

In one embodiment of the invention, the respective application isselected which is currently receiving the user input. Most knownoperating system support this approach. They identify an applicationcurrently receiving the user input under different names, like“foreground application”, “active application”, “application withfocus”, etc.

Another way of selecting an application may be based on determining whatkind of applications or data are supported by the respective otherdevice.

The applications may be required for instance to register to somefunctional block of the device in order to utilize an establishedcommunication channel. All applications in the device may then registerthemselves along with information about what kind of services or datathey can produce, consume or otherwise share. Based on this information,an application can then be selected to be allowed to use an establishedcommunication channel. For instance, during a hugging state, theselection logic in two devices between which a communication channel isestablished may determine which registered application has a counterpartapplication in the respective other device that is capable of sharingthe indicated type of information.

In one embodiment of the invention, an electronic device could alsolaunch, that is, invoke an application or some function of analready-running application, which is allowed to make use of acommunication channel. For example, an application or a certain functionof an application may be triggered based on the contextuality of thecurrently selected user menu. That is, an application can be startedautomatically based on the context of the current menu item, once acommunication channel has been established.

When invoking an application or some function, additional data may beprovided which is to be used by the invoked application or function, forinstance information on whether the antenna of the electronic device ispointing upwards or downwards.

In the proposed framework, a logic forming part of the additionalcontrol portion could control and execute the invoked application orfunction of at least one desired application or function. A very simplelogic could be used for simply launching a selected application, while aslightly more complex logic could first check whether the selectedapplication is already running and launch it only in case it is notrunning. An even more complex logic could be involved in passingcontext-specific parameters to the application after it has been madesure that it is already running.

Alternatively, a special invoking application similar to Corba could beemployed for taking care that a selected application or function isinvoked when necessary. The invoking application may then receive somecontext-specific data and identify based on at least part of this dataother applications or functions which are allowed to use an establishedcommunication channel. The invoking application then invokes theidentified applications or functions if necessary and passes the rest ofthe context-specific data, if any, to them. A logic would then only berequired for selecting the applications and functions and for providingthe context-specific data to the invoking application. Such a logiccould also form part of the additional control portion of the proposedframework.

An application which is allowed to use an established communicationchannel has to become aware when the communication channel is availablefor use or when it is requested by an application in another device toshare data. This awareness can be achieved by a polling by theapplication, by notifications to the application, by callbacks to theapplication, by broadcast to the application, etc.

If the application itself does not poll for an established communicationchannel and/or for a request to share data, for example a link creationportion of a device may be responsible for informing the applicationabout a new communication channel and about possible changes in thestatus of the communication channel. Alternatively, an applicationselection logic may be responsible for informing a selected applicationabout an established communication channel and/or a request to shareinformation.

In one embodiment of the invention, an application is notified about anestablished communication channel after a communication channel has beenestablished. In a more complex embodiment, an application is firstnotified that a communication channel is to be established, and theactual creation of the communication channel is postponed until anotified application indicates that it is ready to use the communicationchannel.

Once a communication channel has been established between at least twodevices and applications in these at least two devices are aware of theestablished communication channel, these applications may communicateand interact in an application specific way across the communicationchannel.

Pieces of functionality offered by the operating system or some otherapplication which may be considered as an application are for examplethe well known cut-and-paste, drag-and-drop and copy-paste mechanisms,etc.

Existing operating systems and applications implement cut-and-paste,drag-and-drop mechanisms and the like in different ways. In oneembodiment of the invention, the implementation is adapted to support ause of these mechanisms as an application which may use a communicationchannel established in accordance with the invention. If a user starts acut-and-paste, copy-paste or drag-and-drop operation on one device byusing a user interface of one of these mechanisms, the user indicatesthereby in such an adapted implementation that the mechanism is theapplication which is to be selected. If the user then hugs the devicewith another, or vice versa, the user may complete the operation on theother device, once the communication channel has been established.

In one embodiment of the invention, also the applications may influencethe content of the handle, for instance by interacting with the portionof the device detecting a hugging state. If this kind of implementationis used, the handle may also contain information which is only relevantto the involved applications in both devices. This part of the handle isalso referred to as secondary handle. The handle may then comprise forinstance an IP-address enabling the creation of a communication channeland in addition a secondary handle relating to an Moving Picture ExpertsGroup (MPEG) 4 stream and intended for an application supporting MPEG-4streams.

In another embodiment of the invention, a secondary handle is exchangedbetween devices via the established communication channel, and thusseparately from the original handle containing the address information.

The electronic devices according to the invention can make use ofsensors not only for the actual detection of a hugging state, but alsoin various ways for influencing the employment of the establishedcommunication channel.

In one embodiment of the invention, for example, sensors are providedwhich detect whether the antenna of a mobile phone constituting one ofthe electronic devices points upwards or downwards. Such a sensor and anassociated logic allows the user of the mobile phone to indicate thedirection of a desired data transfer via a communication channel bytilting the antenna of a mobile phone upwards or downwards. Antenna upcould mean that data is to be uploaded to the mobile phone and antennadown could mean that data is to be downloaded from the mobile phone, orvice versa.

Instead of tilting, obviously any other physical manipulation of anelectronic device could be detected by appropriate sensors, such assqueezing, shaking or rotating the electronic device, establishing anabsolute rotational position of the electronic device or a rotationalposition relative to another device, moving the electronic device with acertain absolute or relative speed, moving the electronic device with acertain acceleration, etc. Any of these movements can then be evaluatedby a logic in order to determine for instance a desired direction of adata transfer or the behavior of the involved applications etc.

If some information is passed to an application, like information on thedirection in which the antenna of the device is pointing, thisinformation may thus form as well the basis for a context dependentinteraction or, at least, enable the application to behave in contextspecific way.

In an advantageous embodiment of a device according to the invention,the device comprises an expandable framework. The framework comprisesthe basic features of the device, including a touch detection portionand a link creation portion. In addition, various functional blocks canbe added to the framework. Each functional block provides the logic foran additional service to the applications in the device, to applicationsin other devices or to the portions of other devices realizing thedetection of a hugging state, the obtaining of a handle and/or thecreation of a communication channel.

One possible additional functional block may provide a logic forrealizing the above mentioned application selection. Another possibleadditional functional block may provide a logic for determining thedirection of a data exchange in cases where the roles of theapplications in the two devices has to be determined. Yet anotherpossible additional functional block may provide a logic for determiningthe most suitable data format when sharing data via an establishedcommunication channel. Yet another possible additional functional blockmay provide a logic for an authentication, an authorization and/or anaudit/accounting functionality, or other security services.

The possible context specificity of the invention might also focus onthe interface between applications of an electronic device andcomponents of this electronic device realizing the invention, forexample components of the proposed framework. If the data passingthrough this interface, for instance information on the direction inwhich the antenna of the device is pointing, or data on the behavior ofthe interface, for instance information about which application getsselected, varies depending on a state information or on an availableinput, the interaction is, or has the capability of being, contextdependent.

A communication channel established in accordance with the invention canbe released again in various ways.

In one embodiment of the invention, an application is able to allow orto force the communication channel to be closed.

Alternatively or in addition, the component of the device which isresponsible for creating the communication channel may also beresponsible for terminating the communication channel again based onsome suitable logic. A communication channel could be terminated forexample after a predetermined period of non-use of the establishedcommunication channel.

Alternatively or in addition, an established communication channel maybe terminated when a hugging state is detected for a second time after acommunication channel has been established. The second hugging betweendevices is detected in the same way as the first one, but triggers thetermination of the communication channel. In the simplest implementationof this embodiment, the existence of a link between two devicesdetermines whether a detected hugging state results in the establishmentof a communication channel or in the termination of an existingcommunication channel.

Alternatively or in addition, the detection of a second hugging can alsobe combined advantageously with the above described embodiment forpieces of functionality like cut-and-paste. The detection of a secondhugging allows the necessity for a repeated entry of the hugging stateto be avoided when a series of copy or move operations is to be carriedout. Instead, a first hugging is achieved as a part of the firstoperation, and all subsequent operations are based on the communicationchannel and the parameters of that hugging. During or after the lastoperation, a second hugging terminates the sequence and, if desired, thecommunication channel.

The use of a second hugging for terminating a communication channel,however, is limited to cases where the user remains near the otherdevice for the duration of the connection or, at least, returns to theother device when it is time to terminate the connection.

The invention can also be employed for linking up several devices, forexample in a row in some kind of a temporal daisy-chain.

In one embodiment of the invention more than two devices may even beallowed to enter a hugging state with a certain device at the same time.One device may for example multicast or broadcast its desire to enter ahugging state to a number of devices, for instance via IrDA orBluetooth™.

The possibility of linking of several devices could also be implementedusing application specific functional blocks. But since such a linkingmay be useful for various applications, it is well suited as afunctional block of the above mentioned framework.

In a further embodiment of the invention involving several devices, onemobile device may be used for causing the establishment of acommunication channel between two other devices, in particular twonon-mobile electronic devices, by hugging both one after the other.

A user interface may be provided which enables a user to influence allor selected ones of the described functions. Some selected embodimentsof the invention are summarized in the following.

In a “Basic Touch-and-Share” embodiment, the user of a mobile devicetouches some other electronic device with the mobile device. The userfinds that one or more applications start to interact in an applicationspecific way.

In a “Cut-Touch-Paste” embodiment, the user starts a cut-and-paste,copy-paste or drag-and-drop operation on one electronic device, touchesone device with the other, and completes the operation on the otherdevice.

In a “Touch only” embodiment, the user of a mobile device touches someother device with the mobile device. The user finds that the two devicesare now connected, for instance that they have an IP-connectivity.

In a “Touch and toggle” embodiment, the “Touch only” embodiment issupplemented in that the established connection is disrupted when theinvolved electronic devices touch for a second time.

In “Variations of Touch” embodiments, a mobile device is used forpointing at another device or other devices instead of touching them.Alternatively, the mobile device is taken in close proximity of theother device or devices.

An important part of the Touch-and-Share concept is that while the Touchpart is momentary, the Share part may continue for a long time. In thementioned “Basic Touch-and-Share” embodiment, for example, touching adesktop computer with a media phone may result in dozens of megabytes ofa picture file being uploaded from the mobile phone to the computer overa relatively slow link, like GPRS.

It is understood that any of the described embodiments of the inventioncan be combined and varied in may ways.

Further, any employed logic can be realized either in hardware or insoftware.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that thedrawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as adefinition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should bemade to the appended claims. It should be further understood that thedrawings are not drawn to scale and that they are merely intended toconceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 schematically shows a block diagram of a minimal implementationof the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an operation in the embodiment ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically shows a block diagram of an extended implementationof the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operation in the embodiment ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 schematically shows a block diagram of an expandableimplementation of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an operation in the embodiment ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an operation involving three devicesin the embodiment of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a context based operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 schematically presents a block diagram with two electronicdevices 10, 20, which are enabled to create a hugging-based ad-hocconnection between each other in accordance with a first embodiment ofthe invention. At least one of the electronic devices is a mobiledevice.

The first electronic device 10 comprises a touch detection portion 11, alink creation portion 12 and at least one application 13. The touchdetection portion 11 further comprises physical means 14 for realizingthe hugging and a logic 15. The touch detection portion 11 may furtherhave access to a local database 16, as indicated in FIG. 1 by dottedlines. The database 16 maps known RFIDs to usable IP addresses.Moreover, a user interface 17 may be connected to the link creationportion 12, which is equally indicted by dotted lines. In the currentembodiment, the physical means 14 for hugging include by way of exampleby an RFID chip, which is integrated into the electronic device 10. Thelink creation portion 12 has access to several link bearers 18.

For the second electronic device 20, no details are shown. It maycomprise the same components as the first electronic device 10, but somefunctional components or parts thereof may also be missing. It may have,for example, no link creation portion, as long as it is able to use alink created by the link creation portion 12 of the first device 10. IfIP addresses are used for creating the ad-hoc connection, for instance,the second device 20 could have only the usual IP stack without anyadditional functionality besides a touch detection portion.

The creation of an ad-hoc connection between the first electronic device10 and the second electronic device 20 of FIG. 1 will now be describedwith reference to the flow chart of FIG. 2.

In a first step, the touch detection portion 11 detects that it hugsanother device 20 or that it is being hugged by another device 20. Thatis, the physical means 14 for hugging forward or forwards measurementresults and/or received data to the logic 15 of the touch detectionportion 11. The logic 15 then determines based on the receivedinformation whether a hug is occurring.

If the electronic devices 10, 20 comprise respective RFID chips 14, thehugging detection may include detecting at one device a transmittedcontent of an RFID tag, measuring how close the device transmitting thetag content is, and determining based on this information whether ahugging is taking place. For example, when the second device 20broadcasts the content of its RFID tag to its neighborhood overBluetooth™, WLAN, Ethernet or IrDA, etc., or over a combination thereof,the RFID chip 14 of the first device 10 may detect this content. Thelogic 15 of the first device 10 determines based on the signal strengthof the received tag content whether the transmitter of the tag contentcan be assumed to be close and thus to be hugging the first electronicdevice 10.

In a further step, the logic 15 of the touch detection portion 11obtains a handle comprising address information which can be used toaddress the second electronic device 20. The address information isassumed by way of example to be an IP-address.

If a hugging is determined by way of an RFID tag, the logic 15 of thetouch detection portion 11 may be caused to query the local database 16for known tag contents and their mapping to usable IP addresses. An IPaddress associated in the database 16 to the received tag content isthen used as a handle.

The touch detection portion 11 of the first electronic device 10 willtypically not require a user input, except possibly for the actualhugging by putting the first electronic device 10 into a relation to thesecond electronic device 20 which is predetermined for a hugging.

The hugging state has only to be maintained until the required handleinformation, in the present case the RFID tag content, has beentransmitted by the second electronic device 20 to the first electronicdevice 10.

Instead of an RFID chip, the physical means of both electronic devices10, 20 could comprise be for example a material on the surface on bothelectronic devices enabling a galvanic contact. If both devices touchphysically, the galvanic connection is detected and an IP-address of thesecond electronic device 20 can be transmitted via this galvanicconnection to the first electronic device for use as a handle.

In a subsequent step, the obtained handle is forwarded by the touchdetection portion 11 to the link creation portion 12, and the linkcreation portion 12 creates a link between the first electronic device10 and the second electronic device 20.

If the handle is or comprises an IP address, as in the current example,the link creation portion 12 can use any available link bearer 18, thatis, any available communication channel which ensures that the indicatedIP address can be reached. The available link bearers 18 may comprisefor instance GPRS, dial-up modem, data cable connected to a desktopcomputer with Ethernet card, etc.

Typically, the link creation portion 12 does not require any input ofthe user either. In some cases, it may be advisable to allow an accessby a user via a user interface 17, for example for determining which oneof the available link bearers 18 should be used. For the best userexperience, though, the link bearer 18 should be selected based onpredetermined user preferences.

If the second electronic device 20 comprises as well a link creationportion, it is advantageously avoided that the link creation portions ofboth devices 10, 20 create a communication channel between the twodevices 10, 20. By way of example, each electronic device obtaining ahandle compares therefore for example an included IP-address with itsown IP-address, and only if the included IP-address is lower than itsown IP-address, the respective device is responsible for creating thelink. This step is indicated by a decision step in FIG. 2.

To be useful, the communication channel created by the link creationportion 12 must be accessible in some way to the at least oneapplication 13, should this application desire to use the communicationchannel.

The link creation portion 12 may or may not be aware which applications13 exist or are running, and it may or may not be responsible forinforming the applications 13 about a new link and about possiblechanges in the status of the link. In FIG. 2, a further step, in whichthe link creation portion 12 notifies an application 13 of the firstelectronic device 10 that a communication channel has been established,is therefore indicated by dotted lines. Alternatively, the at least oneapplication 13 could poll, for example, itself for an establishedcommunication channel.

Then, the application or applications of the electronic devices 10, 20may use the communication channel whenever needed. One application 13may be for example a piece of functionality offering Cut-and-Paste orDrag-and-Drop operations. Such an application may be part of a moreextensive application, in particular of an operating system. Theimplementation of this piece of functionality may be based on knownimplementations which are adapted to the invention. A user may selectfor instance an item for a Cut-and-Paste or Drag-and-Drop operation. Assoon as the piece of functionality 13 implementing the Cut-and-Paste orDrag-and-Drop function is notified that a communication channel has beenestablished, the piece of functionality 13 will transmit the selecteditem via the communication channel to the second electronic device 20.

The link creation portion 12 may monitor as well, whether theestablished communication channel should be terminated. In case of atimeout indicating that the communication channel has not been used fora predetermined period of time, the communication channel isdisconnected.

In a “Touch and Toggle” implementation, the link creation portion 12 maymonitor in addition whether the detection of a second hugging isreported by the touch detection portion 11 while a communication channelexists. If such a second hugging is reported, the communication channelis equally disconnected.

The link creation portion 12 further monitors whether the conditions onthe established communication channel deteriorate. In case theconditions become unacceptable, the link creation portion 12 switchesthe link to another communication channel, if possible. The linkcreation portion 12 may switch for example from an IP-over-Bluetooth™connection to a GPRS connection, when the two electronic devices 10, 20are no longer within the Bluetooth™ range to each other.

The embodiment of the invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 and2 may be employed in various situations, a few of which will bepresented in the following.

In one possible situation, the first electronic device 10 could be forexample a TV-set and the second electronic device 20 a mobile phone. Auser may be watching a TV program on the TV-set, but has to leave homebefore it is finished. Before leaving, the user simply hugs the TV-setwith a mobile phone he will carry along. The TV-set detects the hugging,obtains a handle including the IP-address of the mobile phone,establishes a communication channel to the mobile phone, goes tostand-by and transmits the selected TV program via the establishedcommunication channel to the mobile phone. The user may then continuewatching the same TV program on the display of the mobile phone.

In another possible situation, the first electronic device 10 is adesktop computer and the second electronic device 20 is a laptop. Anoffice worker has opened the disk management application of her desktopcomputer and selected a disk to share. Then, she causes a hugging statebetween the computer and the laptop. The computer detects the huggingstate, obtains a handle including the IP-address of the laptop andestablishes a communication channel to the laptop. The laptop may thenmount the disk via the established communication channel.

In another possible situation, the first electronic device 10 is adesktop computer and the second electronic device 20 is a mobile phone.A businessman may be in a rush to go to an airport and would like todownload some large files from his desktop computer to his mobile phone,which has a very slow connection. He opens a file management applicationon the computer, selects the desired files and clicks on an option whichmay be named “Send to Touch-and-Share”. He then hugs the computer withhis mobile phone and rushes to his car. During the short hugging, thecomputer received from the mobile phone information for obtaining theIP-address of the mobile phone. Thereupon, the computer establishes aGPRS connection to the mobile phone, and an application starts todownload the selected files to the mobile phone via the establishedconnection. By the time the businessman reaches the airport, the fileshave been downloaded to the mobile phone.

The distinction between the touch detection portion and the linkcreation portion is that the touch detection portion can rely on havinga communications channel open between the two devices for the durationof creating the handle, while the link creation portion may not havesuch a channel available until the desired communication channel itselfis created. This distinction is, however, not always completely obvious.For example, the physical communications channel used during a huggingmay remain available even after the hugging state has been terminated. Ahugging of two devices can be given if two devices are very close toeach other, which can be detected for instance based on the timing or onthe strength of radio signals received from the respective other devicevia a radio interface, but the devices may also be capable ofcommunicating at a greater distance using the same radio interface. Alsowhen RFID tags are used for detecting a hugging state, the distinctionmay not be obvious.

FIG. 3 schematically presents a block diagram with two electronicdevices 30, 40, which are enabled to create a hugging-based ad-hocconnection between each other in accordance with a second embodiment ofthe invention. At least one of the electronic devices is a mobiledevice.

The first electronic device 30 comprises components 31 to 38 whichcorrespond to the components 11 to 18 of the first electronic device 10of FIG. 1. In addition, however, it comprises an application selector 39arranged between the link creation portion 32 and a plurality ofapplications 33.

For the second electronic device 40, no details are shown. It is assumedto comprises the same components as the first electronic device 30, eventhough some components could be missing.

The creation of an ad-hoc connection between the first electronic device30 and the second electronic device 40 of FIG. 3 will now be describedwith reference to the flow chart of FIG. 4.

The creation of the ad-hoc connection is basically the same as describedwith reference to FIG. 2. Since the application 33 which is allowed touse the created communication channel may not be obvious, however, theapplication selector 39 selects one or more applications 33 which areallowed to use an established communication channel. The applicationselector 39 includes to this end a selection logic.

By way of example, it is assumed that any application 33 has to registeritself with the application selector portion 39 or some other componentin order to utilize the “Touch-and-Share” functionality. An application33 registers itself along with information about what kind of servicesor data it can produce, consume or otherwise share. For example, oneapplication may be able to receive an MPEG-4 stream and anotherapplication may support a protocol interface recognizable by its WebServices Description Language (WSDL) URL.

Next, a hugging is detected and a handle obtained by the touch detectioncomponent 31 of the first electronic device 30 as described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In addition, the application selector 39 in both devices 30, 40 evaluateduring the hugging state whether the devices 30, 40 have counterpartapplications capable of producing and willing to share data with anapplication in the respective other device. For instance, theapplication selector portion 39 in both devices 30, 40 may decide thatan application supporting MPEG-4 in one device 30 has a counterpartapplication in the other device 40 which is able and willing to share anMPEG-4 stream. Thus, these applications are selected by the applicationselector portion 39 in both devices 30, 40.

Further, the application selector 39 in the respective device 30, 40informs the selected applications 33 that a communication channel willbe created. The handle obtained by the touch detection portion 31 of thefirst electronic device 30 may comprise in addition to the addressinformation required for a later link creation as well a secondaryhandle for the selected application, for instance for the MPEG-4 stream,which may be used exclusively by the selected application. In this case,the application selector 39 forwards the secondary handle to theselected applications 33 when informing these applications 33 that acommunication channel will be created.

Then, the application selector 39 in the first electronic device 30monitors whether it receives an indication by the selected applications33 of the first electronic device 30 that they are ready to use theoffered communication channel. Upon such an indication, the applicationselector 39 causes the link creation portion 32 to create acommunication channel to the second electronic device 40 based on theaddress in the obtained handle.

The further operation may be similar as the operation in the firstembodiment described with reference to FIG. 2.

Alternatively or in addition, the application selector 39 could selectthe application 33 which is currently receiving a user input, if theoperating system of the electronic device 30 supports this approach byregistering this application as “foreground application”, “activeapplication”, “application with focus”, or the like.

The actual interaction on an established communication channel iscontext specific. For example, a user of a first mobile phone may wantto share ten large files with the user of a second mobile phone. Theuser of the first mobile phone marks the files on her mobile phone forcopy-and-paste and defines thereby a context. The user of the firstmobile phone then touches the second mobile phone with her mobile phone.The touch should require less than one second. By the touch, a contextspecific share is triggered. The share may happen independently oflocation, time limitations and user input based on user preferences. Theuser of the second mobile phone rushes to the airport, while the filesare downloaded to his mobile phone.

The embodiment of the invention described with reference to FIG. 3 mayalso be employed in scenarios involving multiple devices.

In one exemplary scenario, the electronic devices are gaming deviceswhich are employed for a mobile multiplayer game exhibiting a linking ofmultiple gaming devices. In a certain situation, a group of persons isplaying the mobile game over Bluetooth™. A further person joins thegroup and hugs the gaming device of one of the players with his owngaming device. In the gaming device of the player, the touch detectionportion 31 detects a hugging state and obtains a handle, the linkcreation portion creates a communication channel, and the applicationselector 39 notifies the active application 33. Using the createdcommunication channel, the same game is invoked thereupon by thenotified application in the device of the further person via theestablished communication channel. The game may even be downloaded tohis device, if necessary.

FIG. 5 schematically presents an electronic device, which is enabled tocreate a hugging-based ad-hoc connection with another electronic devicein accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

The electronic device 50 comprises in contrast to the embodiments ofFIGS. 1 and 3 an extendable framework with partly variable functionalblocks.

The framework comprises like the electronic devices of FIGS. 1 and 3 atouch detection portion 51, a link creation portion 52 with access tolink bearers 58 and applications 53. In addition, however, it comprisesan additional control logic portion 60 which is responsible forenforcing the logic needed to provide additional services which aparticular implementation of the electronic device 50 may provide to theapplications 53 in the device 50 or in other devices, or to theimplementation in general of other devices.

The touch detection portion 51, the link creation portion 52 and theapplications 53 have access to the additional control logic portion 60.In addition, a user interface UI 66 and sensors 67 are connected to theadditional control logic portion 60. Further components 68 may equallyconnected to the additional control logic portion 60.

For providing the desired services, the additional control logic portion60 itself may include various functional blocks. Several exemplaryblocks are indicated in FIG. 5.

The exemplary functional blocks include an application selector 61,which can have similar functions as the application selector 39 of thefirst electronic device 30 of FIG. 3. The application selector 61 mightalso be split further into two functional blocks. One block could thenbe responsible for selecting the application 53 that is allowed to usean established communication channel, while the other block could beresponsible for producing an application specific secondary handle. Sucha split-up enables a better modularity and a better integration with aDrag-and-Drop functionality, a Copy-Paste functionality, etc.

The exemplary functional blocks of the additional control logic portion60 further include an AAA block 62, which provides an authentication,authorization and audit/accounting functionality along with othersecurity services that may be needed by in a “Touch-and-Share” operationor by some of the applications 53, unless such a functionality isimplemented in these applications themselves. If the electronic device50 belongs to a service provider, for example, the AAA block 62 mightdetermine based on the IP address of a handle obtained during a huggingstate with some other electronic device, whether this device isauthorized to access a certain service and which charging rates are tobe applied. For the authentication etc., also additional informationmight be exchanged during the hugging state between the AAA block 62 andthe other electronic device via the touch detection portion 51.

The exemplary functional blocks of the additional control logic portion60 further include a directional logic 63. This directional logic 63provides a logic for determining the direction of share via thecommunication channel in those cases, in which the roles of involvedapplications in two devices has to be determined. For example, if anFM-radio-equipped device touches an FM radio, it has to be determinedwhich one gets tuned to the frequency of the other. The respectivechoice of a direction by the directional logic 63 could be based on userpreferences, device preferences, randomness, a user input via the userinterface 66 or measurement data provided by the sensors 67, etc. Inabsence of a directional logic 63, a similar functionality may have tobe implemented on an application basis.

The exemplary functional blocks of the additional control logic portion60 further include a data format selector 64, which provides a logicwhich enables the applications 53 to find the most suitable data formatwhen sharing data via an established communication channel. Thefunctionality of this block can be realized similarly as the “PasteSpecial . . . ” functionality in some office applications.

Any other functional block 65 realizing a desired function can beintegrated as well in the additional control logic portion 60.

The user interface 66 can be used by any of the functional blocks 61 to65 in the additional control logic portion 60, in order to involve theuser in the logic or functioning of the respective block. The userinterface 66 can equally be used by the Touch Detection portion 51and/or the Link Creation portion 52 if desired.

Moreover, sensors 67 may be used for supporting various functions.

One implementation of the electronic device 50 uses the sensors 67 incombination with the directional logic 63 in the electronic device 50for influencing the sharing behavior, as illustrated in the flow chartof FIG. 6. The embodiment is used for “pouring” data from one electronicdevice to another.

One electronic device is assumed to be a mobile phone and the other onea computer. Both may be implemented as described with reference to FIG.5. The active application in both devices presents a view of a filefolder.

In a first step, a user selects via a user interface a number of fileson one or on both devices. The selection can be performed for example byhighlighting the files.

Then, at least the touch detection component 51 of the mobile phonedetect a hugging with the computer, as described above.

During the hugging, the sensors 67 of the mobile phone determine whetherthe antenna of the mobile phone is pointing upwards or downwards andforward this information to the directional logic 63 of the mobilephone.

The sensors 67 of the mobile phone determine in addition whether themobile phone is shaken during the hugging and forward this informationas well to the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone.

If it is detected that the antenna of the mobile phone is pointingupwards and that the mobile phone is not shaken during the touch, it isdetermined by the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone that the userdesires to copy the selected files from the computer to the mobilephone, if a copy-mode is active. If a move-mode is active, thedirectional logic 63 of the mobile phone determines that the userdesires to move the selected files from the computer to the mobilephone.

If it is detected that the antenna of the mobile phone is pointingupwards and that the mobile phone is shaken during the touch, it isdetermined by the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone that the userdesires to move the selected files from the computer to the mobilephone, if a copy-mode is active. The directional logic 63 switches to amove-mode. If a move-mode is active, the directional logic 63 of themobile phone determines that the user desires to copy the selected filesfrom the computer to the mobile phone. The directional logic 63 switchesto a copy-mode.

If it is detected that the antenna of the mobile phone is pointingdownwards and that the mobile phone is not shaken during the touch, itis determined by the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone that theuser desires to copy the selected files from the mobile phone to thecomputer, if a copy-mode is active. If a move-mode is active, thedirectional logic 63 of the mobile phone determines that the userdesires to move the selected files from the mobile phone to thecomputer.

If it is detected that the antenna of the mobile phone is pointingdownwards and that the mobile phone is shaken during the touch, it isdetermined by the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone that the userdesires to move the selected files from the mobile phone to thecomputer, if a copy-mode is active, thereby entering a move-mode. Thedirectional logic 63 switches to a move-mode. If a move-mode is active,the directional logic 63 of the mobile phone determines that the userdesires to copy the selected files from the mobile phone to thecomputer. The directional logic switches to a copy-mode.

Then, the link creation portion 52 of one of the devices creates acommunication channel as described above. Further, the applicationselectors 61 of both devices notify the file management system withinthe operating system of each device as relevant applications that a linkhas been created and about the desired kind of data exchange.

The file management systems exchange thereupon data via the respectiveapplication selector 61, the respective link creation portion 52 and thelink bearer 58 used for the created communication channel as requested.

If a further hugging is performed, the copy-mode can be transformed intoa move-mode and vice versa by shaking the mobile phone during thehugging.

A scenario involving multiple devices for realizing a temporal, andpossibly spatial, piggyback is illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 7.

A first device A contains some files.

A second device B is used to hug device A, or vice versa, recognizesthat device A is willing to share those files, and obtains handleinformation. The handle information include information on an address,for instance an IP address, of device A and some pointers to the actualfiles, for instance URLs.

Device B is then used at some later time to touch a third device C.During the touch, the handle information is forwarded by device B todevice C. A functional block in an additional control logic portion indevice B is responsible for obtaining the handle information from deviceA and for forwarding it to device C.

Device C now sets up a communication channel to device A making use ofthe obtained handle.

Finally, device C obtains a copy of the files identified by the pointersvia the established communication channel from device A.

In another embodiment of the invention, the current menu item isevaluated for triggering an application, as illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 8.

In this embodiment, the user of an electronic device selects anotherelectronic device by simple pointing to the other device and thereforegetting very small distance between the two devices. This resolves thedevice selection and addressing problem. Further on, an application isstarted automatically based on the context of the current menu item.

The device comprises a close proximity indicator which determines aclose proximity to another device. Currently, there are mainly twoalternatives which would suit the requirements of small devices, namelyRFID and Bluetooth™ Most RFID technologies work only over the distanceof a few centimeters and would thus be suited for determining aproximity between two devices. But also Bluetooth™ could be used fordetermining a proximity by analyzing the RSSI measurements whichchipsets compliant to the Bluetooth 1.2 specifications are providing.The close proximity indicator could also be realized like the touchdetection portion in the preceding embodiments. Moreover, acommunication channel to another device may be created based on a handleas described for the preceding embodiments.

The device further comprises a component for triggering a desiredfunction based on a trigger from the close proximity indicator and thecurrent menu item. If a trigger from the close proximity indicatorcomes, this component evaluates the current menu item and determines theintended end user action. Such a component could also be a functionalblock in the additional control logic potion of the device of FIG. 5.

The function related to the intended end user action is then performed.

A potential use case is that a person takes a picture and wants to shareit with another person close by. The picture is on the menu screen and asingle menu item puts the device into a sharing mode. If the device nowcomes close enough to a second device, “sharing the picture” isrecognized as desired action. The picture is then transferredautomatically to the other device, as the intention to share the itemwith the other device is already expressed by pointing to the otherdevice. Even the single key press to put the device into the sharingmode is not always needed, as the unintentional pointing to anotherdevice is not typical, and therefore the sharing could be triggered alsowithout any further user interaction.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodimentthereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form and details of the devices and methods describedmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that allcombinations of those elements and/or method steps which performsubstantially the same function in substantially the same way to achievethe same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, itshould be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method stepsshown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form orembodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosedor described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter ofdesign choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only asindicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting, by an apparatus,a first hugging state indicating that the apparatus is in closeproximity to a wireless device by receiving radio frequencyidentification signals including at least an address of the wirelessdevice; when detecting the first hugging state, establishing, by theapparatus, a wireless communication channel with the wireless device;detecting, by the apparatus, a second hugging state while there existsthe wireless communication channel with the wireless device, the secondhugging state indicating that the apparatus is in close proximity to thewireless device by receiving radio frequency identification signalsincluding at least the address of the wireless device; and whendetecting the second hugging state, terminating, by the apparatus, thewireless communication channel with the wireless device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the wireless communication channel is establishedusing the received address of the wireless device.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless communication channel is based on at leastone of a Bluetooth communication protocol or a WLAN communicationprotocol.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communicationchannel uses a direct link between the apparatus and the wirelessdevice.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting that aparticular application of the apparatus is a foreground application thatis currently selected to receive user input; and invoking at least onefunction of the foreground application once the wireless communicationchannel with the wireless device has been established, in order toenable the at least one invoked function to make use of the wirelesscommunication channel.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the invoking ofthe at least one function is performed in response to a user input. 7.An apparatus, comprising, a processor, and a memory including executableinstructions, the memory and the executable instructions beingconfigured to, in cooperation with the processor, cause the apparatusto: detect a first hugging state indicating that the apparatus is inclose proximity to a wireless device by receiving radio frequencyidentification signals including at least an address of the wirelessdevice; when detecting the first hugging state, establish a wirelesscommunication channel with the wireless device; detect a second huggingstate while there exists the wireless communication channel with thewireless device, the second hugging state indicating that the apparatusis in close proximity to the wireless device by receiving radiofrequency identification signals including at least the address of thewireless device; and when detecting the second hugging state, terminatethe wireless communication channel with the wireless device.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the wireless communication channel isestablished using the received address of the wireless device.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the wireless communication channel isbased on at least one of a Bluetooth communication protocol or a WLANcommunication protocol.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thewireless communication channel uses a direct link between the apparatusand the wireless device.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thememory and the executable instructions are configured to, in cooperationwith the processor, cause the apparatus to: detect that a particularapplication of the apparatus is a foreground application that iscurrently selected to receive user input; and invoke at least onefunction of the foreground application once the wireless communicationchannel with the wireless device has been established, in order toenable the at least one invoked function to make use of the wirelesscommunication channel.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memoryand the executable instructions are configured to, in cooperation withthe processor, cause the apparatus to invoke the at least one functionin response to a user input.
 13. A computer program product comprising anon-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable codestored thereon, which when executed by a processor causes an apparatusto perform: cause detecting a first hugging state indicating that theapparatus is in close proximity to a wireless device by receiving radiofrequency identification signals including at least an address of thewireless device; when detecting the first hugging state, establishing awireless communication channel with the wireless device; detecting asecond hugging state while there exists the wireless communicationchannel with the wireless device, the second hugging state indicatingthat the apparatus is in close proximity to the wireless device byreceiving radio frequency identification signals including at least theaddress of the wireless device; and when detecting the second huggingstate, terminating the wireless communication channel with the wirelessdevice.
 14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein thewireless communication channel is established using the received addressof the wireless device.
 15. The computer program product of claim 13,wherein the wireless communication channel is based on at least one of aBluetooth communication protocol or a WLAN communication protocol. 16.The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the wirelesscommunication channel uses a direct link between the apparatus and thewireless device.
 17. The computer program product of claim 13, whereinthe computer executable code, when executed by a processor, furthercause the apparatus to perform: detecting that a particular applicationof the apparatus is a foreground application that is currently selectedto receive user input; and invoking at least one function of theforeground application once the wireless communication channel with thewireless device has been established, in order to enable the at leastone invoked function to make use of the wireless communication channel.18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computerexecutable code, when executed by a processor, further cause theapparatus to perform invoking the at least one function in response to auser input.
 19. An apparatus, comprising, a user interface; an RFID chipconfigured to detect a first hugging state indicating that the apparatusis in close proximity to a wireless device by receiving radio frequencyidentification signals including at least an address of the wirelessdevice; and a link creation portion configured to, when the firsthugging state has been detected, establish a wireless communicationchannel with the wireless device, wherein the RFID chip is furtherconfigured to detect a second hugging state while there exists thewireless communication channel with the wireless device, the secondhugging state indicating that the apparatus is in close proximity to thewireless device by receiving radio frequency identification signalsincluding at least the address of the wireless device; and wherein thelink creation portion is further configured to, when the second huggingstate has been detected, terminate the wireless communication channelwith the wireless device.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein thewireless communication channel is established using the received addressof the wireless device.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein thewireless communication channel is based on at least one of a Bluetoothcommunication protocol or a WLAN communication protocol.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the wireless communication channel uses adirect link between the apparatus and the wireless device.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is configured to: detectthat a particular application of the apparatus is a foregroundapplication that is currently selected to receive user input via theuser interface; and invoke at least one function of the foregroundapplication once the wireless communication channel with the wirelessdevice has been established, in order to enable the at least one invokedfunction to make use of the wireless communication channel.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is further configured toinvoke the at least one function in response to a user input.